The government’s plan to sell a 19% stake in state-owned utility DONG Energy to Goldman Sachs for 8 billion Danish kroner ($1.5 billion) has been met with fierce public resistance, bringing the already-fragile minority coalition close to a breakup on Thursday. At the heart of the matter? A broad and deep dislike of Goldman Sachs among the country’s population. In fact, 68% of Danes are against the DONG sale to the American bank, according to a poll held by local broadcaster TV2.

Want some proof? Here’s what Frank Aaen, member of Danish parliament for left-leaning Enhedslisten, has had to say:

“Goldman Sachs is an infamous, speculative company. They even set up in tax havens to avoid paying taxes,” Aaen told newspaper Ekstra Bladet, commenting on the utility selloff.

That’s just part of the massive media and popular criticism of the deal, and more than 185,000 people have signed an online petition against it. On Wednesday, 2,500 people protested in the snow in front of the parliament building in Copenhagen. Organizers asked: “Will a cynical, American investment bank, with expertise in speculating for short-term profit, make long-term investment contributions that will benefit Danish society?

The answer from the demonstrators: a clear no.

“Goldman Sachs aren’t just toxic, but are completely criminal. It’s insane and extremely provocative that they have chosen them [as the buyer],” Eva Ryg told TV2 at the protest.

Reuters

There’s a laundry list of reasons many Danes detest Goldman Sachs. They blame the investment bank for the financial crisis, because of its involvement in selling mortgage-backed securities. It’s been singled out for profiting from cluster bombs, which Denmark is heavily against.

Within Europe, it’s been accused of nefariousness in Greece’s bid to join the euro zone: helping the country hide its deficit, and misleading policy makers to help Greece get access.

And then there’s the DONG deal. Left-wing politicians, riding the tide of popular sentiment, have quibbled about the conditions of the selloff. Goldman Sachs is getting only a minority stake; but it will, according to the agreement, have the right to veto certain key decisions at the utility — who the CEO is, for example.

Another hot-button issue is taxation. The bank won’t pay taxes in Denmark, but instead will channel its profit through subsidiaries in Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands. Unsurprisingly, that doesn’t sit well with the Danes, who get hit with some of the highest rates of taxation in the world.

On Thursday, the political brouhaha took a serious turn, with the potential to bring down the government. The Socialist People’s Party — a minority partner in the governing coalition — withdrew its six members from the cabinet and left the alliance in anger over the deal. But the government still stands, for now.

Later in the day, the Danish parliament’s Committee of Finance approved the sale of the 19% stake to Goldman Sachs, alongside other sales, leaving the country holding 60%. The move triggered angry responses on Twitter:

For its part, Goldman Sachs said it’s “pleased with the approval of this transaction.”

“This is a long-term commitment which reflects our support for the management team’s current strategy across the company’s activities, including the significant renewable energy investments, which we believe will create value for all stakeholders,” a spokeswoman for investment bank told MarketWatch.

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